NHS managers are considering the benefits of a system in which prescriptions for all generic drugs are free, MPs were told last week.

A system that made generic drugs free and that charged patients only if they wanted a branded drug could help improve equity in the NHS, while providing a choice of drugs, said the NHS Confederation, the representative body for NHS organisations.

The confederation's chief executive, Gill Morgan, was giving evidence to the parliamentary select committee on health as part of its inquiry into NHS charges, which are also known as co-payments.